Do you realize how important your nose and eyes are in the kitchen? This week I nearly had a complete cooking disaster, but thanks to my eyes and then my nose I corrected my mistake. Believing that I have a terrific memory, I don't always label items I put in the freezer. This is a mistake and simply a bad habit, and I know it, but somehow it happens time and time again. I have two freezers: one for cooked foods and items I need everyday like Parmesan cheese, another for unprepared foods. I'm reasonably organized with sections devoted to pizza ingredients, snack foods for my son, cookies, and breads. If I make pizza sauce or pesto, that goes into the pizza section. I know what those foods are; ergo, no label is needed.
For Thanksgiving appetizer I made shrimp cocktail, and there were a few leftover along with some homemade cocktail sauce. Menus were already planned for the rest of the week, so I threw them into the freezer. The shrimp will be perfect in an omelet or frittata someday, and I have no doubt the sauce will be useful at some point. The sauce and shrimp were stored together, so no need for a label, right?
Fast forward to last night's menu of pizza. I made the pizza dough and thawed the sausage, cheese, and pizza sauce. At 5:30 pm I rolled the dough out, put it on the pan, and squeezed the sauce from the plastic bag into the center of the pizza. Something didn't look right. The color was fine, but the texture wasn't smooth. I sniffed it and immediately knew that it was cocktail sauce. I was able to remove the sauce from the pizza with no problem, but it definitely shocked me. To compensate for no sauce - there was no time to thaw more sauce or pesto - I put a light layer of cheese topped with the rest of the ingredients. The pizza turned out fine, but can you imagine biting into a pizza and tasting cocktail sauce? Perhaps if I put the shrimp on top it might be okay, but I don't know. Last night was not the night to test that theory.
The upshot is to always label your freezer food, but use your eyes and nose to make sure your ingredients are the right ingredients. Have you ever drunk spoiled milk? Another reason to use your nose.
We are starting the holiday baking at iwannabeacook, so next week's recipes will be devoted to cookies.
Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!
